Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia
Gambia: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 83.1% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia, 1820–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Gambia recorded 83.1% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2025. That is the highest value across all 78 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.4% on the previous year and up 17.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia peaked at 83.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 1820.
That places Gambia 175th out of 209 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 0.3% | — |
| 1825 | 0.4% | +29.0% |
| 1830 | 0.5% | +27.5% |
| 1835 | 0.7% | +27.5% |
| 1840 | 0.8% | +26.2% |
| 1845 | 1.1% | +28.0% |
| 1850 | 1.3% | +26.7% |
| 1855 | 1.7% | +27.1% |
| 1860 | 2.1% | +26.6% |
| 1865 | 2.7% | +27.1% |
| 1870 | 3.4% | +26.5% |
| 1875 | 4.3% | +26.5% |
| 1880 | 5.5% | +26.0% |
| 1885 | 6.9% | +25.7% |
| 1890 | 8.6% | +25.1% |
| 1895 | 10.7% | +24.6% |
| 1900 | 13.3% | +23.9% |
| 1905 | 11.2% | -15.9% |
| 1910 | 9.1% | -18.9% |
| 1915 | 7.8% | -14.1% |
| 1920 | 6.5% | -16.3% |
| 1925 | 5.2% | -20.7% |
| 1930 | 3.8% | -25.9% |
| 1935 | 4.6% | +21.1% |
| 1940 | 5.5% | +17.7% |
| 1945 | 6.3% | +15.0% |
| 1950 | 7.1% | +12.9% |
| 1955 | 10.0% | +41.5% |
| 1960 | 10.0% | -0.3% |
| 1965 | 19.0% | +90.0% |
| 1970 | 21.0% | +10.5% |
| 1971 | 18.2% | -13.6% |
| 1972 | 18.1% | -0.4% |
| 1973 | 19.3% | +6.7% |
| 1974 | 19.9% | +3.0% |
| 1975 | 21.0% | +5.6% |
| 1976 | 22.4% | +6.5% |
| 1977 | 25.8% | +15.5% |
| 1978 | 28.1% | +8.6% |
| 1979 | 31.6% | +12.8% |
| 1980 | 35.7% | +12.8% |
| 1981 | 42.8% | +19.9% |
| 1982 | 45.9% | +7.3% |
| 1983 | 48.5% | +5.6% |
| 1984 | 49.7% | +2.5% |
| 1985 | 52.0% | +4.6% |
| 1986 | 51.8% | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 42.3% | -18.5% |
| 1992 | 40.1% | -5.2% |
| 1993 | 42.7% | +6.5% |
| 1996 | 49.5% | +15.9% |
| 1998 | 51.2% | +3.5% |
| 1999 | 59.7% | +16.5% |
| 2000 | 57.1% | -4.3% |
| 2001 | 57.2% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 55.5% | -2.9% |
| 2003 | 58.7% | +5.7% |
| 2004 | 59.4% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 57.9% | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 62.3% | +7.6% |
| 2007 | 64.4% | +3.4% |
| 2008 | 61.1% | -5.2% |
| 2010 | 63.2% | +3.5% |
| 2011 | 62.0% | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 64.9% | +4.6% |
| 2013 | 65.4% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 67.5% | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 70.5% | +4.5% |
| 2016 | 72.1% | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 74.6% | +3.5% |
| 2018 | 76.4% | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 79.7% | +4.4% |
| 2020 | 81.6% | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 81.0% | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 81.2% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 81.2% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 81.2% | -0.1% |
| 2025 | 83.1% | +2.4% |
Gambia compared with similar countries
- Gambia's 83.1% is above the median for low income countries, which is 69.5%, 1.2× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Gambia's 83.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 84.5%, 98% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | +90.0% | 10.0% | 19.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 2 |
| 1830s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 2 |
| 1840s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.1% | 2 |
| 1850s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 2 |
| 1860s | 2.4% | 2.1% | 2.7% | 2 |
| 1870s | 3.9% | 3.4% | 4.3% | 2 |
| 1880s | 6.2% | 5.5% | 6.9% | 2 |
| 1890s | 9.7% | 8.6% | 10.7% | 2 |
| 1900s | 12.2% | 11.2% | 13.3% | 2 |
| 1910s | 8.4% | 7.8% | 9.1% | 2 |
| 1920s | 5.8% | 5.2% | 6.5% | 2 |
| 1930s | 4.2% | 3.8% | 4.6% | 2 |
| 1940s | 5.9% | 5.5% | 6.3% | 2 |
| 1950s | 8.6% | 7.1% | 10.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 14.5% | 10.0% | 19.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 22.5% | 18.1% | 31.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 46.6% | 35.7% | 52.0% | 7 |
| 1990s | 47.6% | 40.1% | 59.7% | 6 |
| 2000s | 59.3% | 55.5% | 64.4% | 9 |
| 2010s | 69.6% | 62.0% | 79.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.5% | 81.0% | 83.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Gambia
More education data for Gambia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 12,452 (2021)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 16,389 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 71,238 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 77,061 (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 369,783 (2021)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 442,901 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.4 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1569 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Gambia was 83.1% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Gambia?
- The highest recorded value was 83.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Gambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 1820.
- How does Gambia rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Gambia ranks 175th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Gambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Gambia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 78 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.